The Senate on Thursday prescribed a
penalty of seven years imprisonment for
cyber crimes and online fraud
perpetrators in Nigeria. The decision of
the Senate on cyber crimes bill, sponsored
by Senator Adegbenga Kaka, was sequel to
the recommendation of the Senate
Committee on Judiciary and Human
Rights.
The bill, tagged: "A Bill for an Act to
Provide for the Prohibition, Prevention,
Detection, Response, Investigation and
Prosecution of Cybercrimes and for Other
Related Matters 2014", among other
objectives, seeks to punish the
interception of data, system interference
and misuse of devices.
It backs punishment of all kinds of
computer-related fraud, computer-related
forgery, offences relating to pornography,
cyber-stalking and cyber-squatting, just as
it seeks to promote cyber security,
protection of computer systems and
networks, electronic communications,
data and computer programmes,
intellectual property and privacy rights.
The bill also states that anyone who
commits fraud using a computer system
or network with the intention of
obtaining computer data, securing access
to any programme, commercial or
industrial secrets or classified information
will upon conviction be sentenced to
seven years jail term or a fine of N7
million or both.
Furthermore, anyone found guilty of
possessing a manipulative device,
unauthorised automatic teller machine
card, damaging a computer with the
intention to defraud, trafficking in any
password to defraud customers or
financial institutions will be sentenced to
seven years imprisonment or a N7 million
fine.
Similarly, any person or organisation
who intentionally traffics in any password
or similar information through a
computer unlawfully with the intention to
defraud public and private interests
within or outside Nigeria will be liable
upon conviction to a fine of N7 million or
three years imprisonment.
The bill spells out a three-year jail
term or N2 million fine for anyone who
knows that a crime has been committed
in his premises or cybercafe and fails to
report to relevant authorities within
seven days.
While it provides for compulsory
registration of all cybercafes as business
concerns with Computer Professionals'
Registration Council in addition to
business name registration with the
Corporate Affairs Commission, it also
spells out three years jail term or a fine of
N1 million for anyone who perpetrates
electronic fraud through a cybercafe.
In the situation where the fraud is
found to have been perpetrated in
connivance with the owner(s) of the
cybercafe, such owners shall be liable to a
fine of N2 million or three years jail term.
A stiffer punishment of 10 years
imprisonment without an option of fine
awaits anyone who commits any offences
in relation to critical national information
infrastructure and 15 years imprisonment
for any person who commits such a crime
resulting in bodily harm and life
imprisonment for such crime if it results
in death of another person.
In his remarks after the passage of the
bill, the Deputy Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu, who presided, explained
that enacting anti-cyber crime law
became important because there was no
computer at the time penal and criminal
code came into force.
He said:
"With the passage of this bill today and
appropriate application of its prescribed
laws against cyber crimes and other
related matters, Nigeria will henceforth
be seen as a country seriously stamping
out cyber crimes, which to us here at the
Senate and by extension, the National
Assembly, is a major milestone in our
lawmaking enterprise.
